relationship age gaps

[littlemissx]

i'm 21... both my previous ex's are 30 so a nine year age gap (both relationships lasted approx 2 years)... the age gap that way has never bothered me before but have recently started seeing a younger guy... he's 18 (19 next month).

are any of the women here with younger men or men with older women??? does it work??

[metagirl]

i dated a youger guy (i was 22 he was 18) and we saw eachother off and on for 2 years. It is funny because at that age some guys are still gawky and you can tell not fully grown. But other than that it was very nice - once guys hit their mid twenties they lose all their cute charm so I would say go for it and don't worry about it.

it works as long as you are both committed - like any relationship of any age. we lived in different towns - he was still at Uni - which contributed to our break up more than anything else.

[laurence2]

littlemissx, 2 years hardly constitute an age gap.

Point taking tho about immaturity in boys/men of that age, women seem far more grown up.

Just for the record tho i'm 44 my wife is 41 and we met on holiday{tenerife} in 1989, been married 15 years with two wonderful boys {12 & 9} so as metagirl pointed out, providing your both committed it will work.

[OBonio]

I'm 30, my wife is 37. I don't see her as a 37 year old. I see her as my wife. Can't see the problem.

[Bohne]

My Father is 9 years older than my mother and they have been married 38 years.

In another couple I know who has been together over 10 years, she is five or six years older than him.

I don't think a relationship works or does not work because of an age gap.
An Ex-boyfriend of mine was 13 years older, and we were together for 6 years.
It took me that long to realize that I deserved better, and did not have to put up with his games any more.

As long as you are happy, all the best to you!

[Danni79]

You can never say anything will catagorically work or not it depends on loads of things. Both my granddads were 10 years older than my nans and they were married about 40 years each (until they died - naturally that is .....they didn't kill each other because of the age gap..lol!!) but my other halfs parents divorced after 10 years, so you never know.

I think you should just forget the age difference, relax and just enjoy it and take it all as it comes x x x

[Morrisonker]

But the older you are the less an age gap matters, it means a lot more between the ages of 18-25. Life experiences are different, your friends are probably more cliche-y and lets be honest; it's true that guys mature much slower than girls.

I work with people who are roughly 4+ years older than me and I have to say that i get along with the guys there much better than guys my own age. Hell, one of my best friends at work is 28 (i'm 20) and he seems more at my level of maturity than the younger members of staff. I suppose it comes down to the difference between boys and men, in my opinion at 23+ you're a man, under that there are still a lot of boylike qualities. It's not a bad thing per say, it all depends what you want out of the relationship and if the age gap really bothers you so much then you probably won't be able to have a long term relationship with him.

[jen1302]

The age gap between myself and my last boyfriend was 20 years (i was 19 and him 39 when we met)

I never found the age gap that much of a problem as he had been there and done that and i was happy to go with that for the time.I never saw us having a future as we wanted different things ie marriage and kids, dont thing this was an age thing more a personal preference.

If you love and trust the person then age is but a number in the scheme of things !

[WendyS]

I don't think an age gap matters if you are both highly compatible, but after dating two previous chaps who have been ten years older than you, you might find it a bit of a culture shock being with an 18 year old who is pretty unworldly and who has not had the experience of your two previous boyfriends, especially as boys do often seem to mature much later than girls. You might have to gently help him to grow up a little. Whether this might make him feel inadequate or not will depend of what stuff he's made of and whether he likes you enough to stick around.

[metagirl]

Ha Morrisonker - you have so much in common with the 28 yo because its a proven fact that men start to develop in reverse once they hit 28. The reverse development ceases around 35, then it picks up again at about 58. lol

[tigilou]

Im 22 and my partner is 38 we were very good friends done everything together when i met him at 18 in a cafe we always use to go to. I went on holiday with him and other friends we had too much to drink and i came back pregnant we have since made a go of our relationship it has been hard at times and when i was younger i use to worry about our age gap alot but now i dont think i could be more comfortable with anyone else i can do and say anything and hes not worried as i said certain things have been hard but he treats me right and sometimes i think a younger bloke my own age could treat me much worse if that makes sense

[Miss Zippy]

Age is largely irrelevant if two people are compatible. A three year age gap is nothing to be worried about, though I do appreciate that an 18 year old male is probably more of a �boy� than a �man� and if you are used to an older partner you are more inclined to notice his lack of maturity. As you get older, I think an age gap becomes less relevant and less noticeable. I�ve dated older and younger guys (my fianc� is 5 years younger and my ex was 6 years younger) and age wasn�t and isn�t an issue.

[SKY250]

Yes they do work littlemissx.

I am madly in love with my partner who is 31 there is an 8 year age gap with us.We have been together 5 years and plan to get married next year we also share a child together.

There has been no problem with the age gap.Eight years isn't that much of a gap.As long asn your happy its your life.